ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605280129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
In his last jump of the final event, Staunton River's Jarrett Ferguson went from eighth place to third in the triple jump.
More important, the Golden Eagles went from third to first in the Group AA boys' track meet, giving Staunton River its first team state championship.
Watching in disappointment was another Timesland school, Christiansburg, with no jumpers and holding a slim three-point lead over the Golden Eagles. It was so simple that the Blue Demons would be state champions if Ferguson didn't get at least a fourth place.
``I'd been struggling all day, so I had to get a good jump,'' said Ferguson, who was seeded second in the event.
Ferguson nearly didn't make the final eight. When he did, he had two horrible jumps, leaving him with one to score enough points for his team to catch Christiansburg.
``He can do it,'' said Staunton River Joe Curcio.
In the 1,600-meter boys' relay, the next-to-last event, it was Ferguson, under pressure, making a great handoff to Ronnie Goff heading into the final leg that put the Golden Eagles in first. Goff couldn't hold it against a faster athlete, but he had enough to keep Staunton River second which was also key to catching the Blue Demons.
``When I got to the second phase of my jump, I knew it would be a good one,'' said Ferguson. As he settled down in the sand on the landing, the mark was called good and seconds later 46 feet, 33/4 inches was called out by the people measuring, meaning Ferguson was a lock for one of the top spots.
Heading into the final three events, there were nine teams bunched within six points of each other. Staunton River and Graham were tied for third and the Blue Demons were in a three-way lock for sixth, five points down.
That's when the Blue Demons' cross country genes kicked in as Justin Mosby and Matt Nolan, two of the key runners who helped Christiansburg win a Group AA state title last fall, finished second and fourth, respectively, for 13 points that gave the Blue Demons the overall lead and set off the wild finish.
``That's what we were thinking about,'' said Mosby of the team title.
Nolan overcame three runners in the final stretch to account for several extra points.
``I wanted to hang on in the second mile because I usually have a strong kick,'' said Nolan.
Both Staunton River and Christiansburg camps were aware of what was riding on the triple jump, which was late finishing as it was almost scripted for more excitement.
Before the final scores were announced, Curcio figured his team had it won. ``I'm sure this is the school's first state title. When the girls did well in the region several years ago, they were talking about winning and it being the first one, though it didn't happen,'' said the long-time Staunton River coach.
``I think going to the eight places for points this year might have helped us. There's no way at the beginning of the year that I thought we'd win this.''
Christiansburg's Randy Bailey, whose teams are close but somehow don't come up with the state title, was gracious in what might have been his toughest moment in coaching.
``It was certainly disappointing, but Joe's an old friend and certainly a well respected coach in the community. For Ferguson to pull it out with a winning jump on the last effort was a credit to him,'' said Bailey.
``We got off to a slow start, lagged a little bit, but at the end we picked it up.''
The Blue Demons' 3,200-meter relay team won the day's opening event and then Larry Carter won the long jump. ``I did better than I thought because there was a light rain,'' said Carter of a short shower that hit the area during the long jump. ``We came up here with a goal to win the state for our last year in the New River District and leave them with a goal next year.''
Aside from the team scrap, it was a great day for individuals. Laurel Park sophomore Jarrett Hagwood finished second in both hurdles and was fifth in the triple jump. His points helped Laurel Park finish eighth with 25 points.
In both hurdles, Appomattox County's Kevin Walker beat Hagwood just as he did in Region III. In the 110-meter hurdles, Hagwood hit the final hurdle and just missed catching Walker.
``I ran well today. If I hadn't hit that hurdle, it would have been as good as I can do,'' said Hagwood.
In the girls' competition, Blacksburg's Sarah Hendricks was a double winner in the 800- and 1,600-meter events. She had little trouble winning the 1,600 meters, but had to come from way behind in the 800 to beat Spotswood's Alison Kubosh.
``In the 1,600 that was the same time [5:01.07] I had last year. I felt relaxed and it was my best time of the spring. I had confidence I could catch Kubosh, but I didn't expect to. I knew I had to stay close. All the training can get you there, but at the last it was instinct. That's what makes you go,'' said Hendricks.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. 1. Blacksburg's Sarah Hendricks passesby CNBLiberty's Jennifer Modliszewski during the 1,600-meter run in the
Group AA Track and Field Championships in Harrisonburg on Saturday.
Hendricks won in 5 minutes, 1.07 seconds. color. 2. Bruton's Cynthia
Lundstrum (left) and Salem's Rhonda Ellis race to the finish line of
the 100-meter hurdles during the Group AA Track and Field
Championships on Saturday.